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Show iVT" f ? M w i?-r- - t y 1.1 i V n J v'rr 1 1 "fi x V. mmr- I 1 ) fc JSI m .v 0" LvV'-cL-- . m. w-- w w t vi i Th two drivers bone "raffled ' xl ," 1 'n.v. ... vjij" 'rrnMi if - "tcm I'll- m. - iuw ji t " j. orrini 1 a . vs m .. . . c w jrjt w- - - j. j - ' .4," out and paid $3,000 for a new Winton automobile; bought extra parts, tools, and camping equipment; and hired Sewall W. Crocker of Tacoma; Washing-to- n, for the journey., as a mechanic-companiSixty-thrdays and 6,000 miles later, they for Vermont and arrived in New York, having proved that the new- - v Jackson put his wife on a train told her: "I'll be home just as soon as I've driven fangled gas buggy was not a toy but a revolutionacross the UWted States." ary means of transportation. had first crossing- - of the . nation, by. . No one had ever done it before. Others Actuallyr-thi- s tried, but they'd all been defeated by Nebraska automobile began inside San Francisco's UniverCalifornia mountains, or Nevada sands, sity Club. Conversation centered around, the marshes, To avoid those sands, Jackson chose a northerly chances of Teddy Roosevelt and the Boston Red route through the' Pacific Coastal Range foothills Sox, then turned to the new horseless carriage. Oregon When a scoffer offered to bet it would take at into the Sacramento River valley, through of Plains the Great least three months to cross the U.S. in a gas buggy, to Idaho- and Wyoming, over Nebraska to Chicago. After that, he 'figured, it II. Nelson Jackson looked up from his paper. Jackson was 31 then, in town on a visit, from ; would be easy sailing. er Winton His Burlington, Vermont He had just learned to drive, steering wheel and'alchain drive, but he took $50 from his wallet and said, "I'll bet had a right-haUnder favorable condiI can get to New York in less than three months.' but ho windshield or top. miles an hour. When his bet was accepted, Jackson went right tions, it could hit twenty weird-looki: buggy, Jackson and Onto this .h- -i Crocker loaded an extra gas tank, camping gear, two ; ir sleeping bags, a water bag, an axe, a rifle, to lift the car out pistols, and a of mudholes. Jackson . dubbed the overloaded vehicle the "Vermont" and . they were off! MEN made a final checkup rpHE TWO YOUNG X. on their car, then headed north. The place was San Francisco, the date May 23, 1903. . on ee . v . .aowd JLVj. . JH....5 K -- f tljioin and hardware stores. Both men soon developed bulging biceps from pumping the tires. The front tires survived the entire trip, but the back tires were being "slashed to ribbons. Jackson wired ahead for replacements, meantime binding up the old tires with rope. Now the adventurers moved onto the old Qregon Trail. A magazine which had heard of their venture declared, "It is well known that certain parts of Oregon are impossible for; a car to get through without the assistance of a railroad train." Jackson, who had a medical degree from the University of Vermont, was nicknamed the- "mad doctor." - - two-cylind- twenty-horsepow- er, nd st In an epic journey, two hardy adventurers proved the horseless carriage was here to stay coast-to-coa- . ng v- V block-and-tac- kle A 'Hvondcr of the century" arrives From San Francisco it was a week's drive to Sacramento. Then the first stops,, Oakland and ' recame Alturas, where the local newspaper was created ported: "Quite a flurry of excitement here Saturday by the arrival of an automobile, one of the wonders of the century." ,, Jackson recalls that in some places along the way, school was suspended so children might get a glimpse of the new mechanical wonder. turns beJackson and Crocker took four-hohind , the wheel as they bumped alon wagon trails, dried stream beds, or open untry. Gas and oil were picked up at crossroads groceries - 7 ur H. Nelson Jackson lifs in his femed aufo before 1944. giving if to the Smithsonian Institution in u FAMILY WttKlY MAGAZINE MAY 23, 19S4 Nevertheless, he anil Crocker pushed" through Lakeview and Ontario, and on into rugged Idaho. "Roads were a combination of ruts and bumps," says Jackson today. Caldwell, Idaho, staged a dogfight in Jackson's honor. Jackson bought the winner, a bull terrier named Bud, fitted him with a pair of goggles, and took him along as mascot. hike for gas! Riding through heat, dust and downpour by day, the three travelers slept together underneath the Winton by night. Their camping equipment had long since been jarred loose and lost. Once they drove 100 miles without finding any drinking water. Another time, when they ran out of gas, Crocker walked 29 miles to get some! his most Jackson found the blockand-tackl- e useful accessor. One day it hoisted the "Vermont" A 29-mi- le ' ' " ' ; |